Last Supper


by Dr. David Sanders

~Oprah Winfrey

These last few weeks I enjoyed the heartfelt, personal responses of students to a prompt on contemplating their own death. Specifically, they were asked to “choreograph the day of their death from morning till nightfall.” The settings they chose varied from loud parties to quiet rooms and on a beach or in a deep forest. Most wanted to be surrounded by family and friends. One unanticipated theme was the presence of food. Some described the food as part of a celebration with others, a festive meal. Others focused more on the particular food they wanted to enjoy, a last taste of a favorite food or drink or not so surprisingly a food they had denied themselves but before dying wanted a final indulgence.

I myself had not thought about eating on my last day so it was a curiosity to me why so many incorporated food. Then, an unanticipated question popped up: “Why is it that they offer people on death row a last meal before they are executed?” As I reflected on that question I came across a comment that added to the puzzle: What is the point in providing a last meal of their choosing if the person is going to die anyway?

Jokes abound about the size of meals that inmates have ordered or dishes that would require ingredients not readily available–ploys to perhaps put off the immediacy of their execution. The actual meals that have been ordered by convicts are catalogued—see Last Meal on Wikipedia.

The origin of this custom to provide a customized last meal is not clear but eating food is apparently important for many on the day of their death. Would food be a priority for you? If so, please share your menu and if you have a thought why a last meal is offered to convicts awaiting execution please share that as well.

david

P.S. We come into this world naked and leave naked and we are fed a first meal and leave with a last supper.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Tearing Up

by Dr. David Sanders “Tears are the evidence of our inner life overflowing its boundaries, spilling over into consciousness. Wordless and spontaneous, they release us to the possibility of realignment, reunion, catharsis, intractable resistance short-circuited.”

Time flies.

by Melanie Gruenwald At Kabbalah Experience’s Time and When are you? classes, we explore the concept of time as a construct. We agree we’ll meet at 3:30pm. Three-thirty of what? Mountain Time? Eastern time? It’s

It’s About Time

by Dr. David Sanders It’s about time.  (For the first time, in a long time, I am teaching the course on the Kabbalah of Time. When I revisit a course, I want to update it).

Omer Reflections

by Melanie Gruenwald The period between Passover’s Second Seder and Shavuot is an auspicious time of counting for the Jewish people. We call this seven-week period, ‘Counting the Omer’ Kabbalists have connected this journey to

Languages of Freedom

by Dr. David Sanders It surprises me whenever I ask a couple if they know their “love language” and I am met with a blank stare. It becomes a welcome opportunity for me to enumerate